SANYA, China, April 14 (Reuters) - Russia's state development bank, VEB, plans to take out yuan loans this year equivalent to at least $500 million, Chairman Vladimir Dmitriev said on Thursday.
Dmitriev was speaking to reporters after the heads of the development bank of the five "BRICS" nations agreed to set up mutual credit lines in their local currencies as part of a drive to reduce their dependence on the dollar for trade and investment.
"We have worked out a mechanism with China Development Bank to use offshore RMB to secure swaps in convertible currencies and therefore make the loans cheaper," he said.
The renminbi (RMB) is another name for the yuan.
(Reporting by Alexei Anishchuk; Writing by Alan Wheatley; Editing by Ken Wills)